Constitution Review 10 Week Exam

Background History First Constitution – Articles of Confederation (1781) U.S. Constitution replaces Articles of Confederation in 1787 Constitution begins with Preamble The Preamble explains why the Constitution Talks of a “more perfect” government Gov’t would benefit the people

Background (continued) There are 7 Articles Articles 1-3 create the three branches of gov’t Legislature (Article 1) Executive (Article 2) Judicial (Article 3) Article 4 concerns the states Article 5 addresses amending or changing the constitution Article 6 deals with Federal issues Article 7 details the method for ratification/acceptance of the Constitution

Article 1 Creates the legislative branch of the government Legislative branch is a bi-cameral (two parts) body known as Congress It is made up of the Senate and the House of Representives

CONGRESS House of Representatives Lower House of Congress 25 yr age limit 2 year term Number per state depends on population Leader= Speaker of the House (chosen by members) Senate Upper House of Congress 30 yr age limit 6 year term (1/3 up for re-election every 2 years) 2 per state Vice-President is the President of the Senate (does not vote unless a tie)

Congress info Congress creates bills Bills are voted on and if passed, become law The President has several options on what to do with a bill that has passed both houses of Congress Sign into law Veto it – Overturn the law (learn more of Veto in Presidential section) Not sign it (next page for explanation)

What if a Bill isn’t signed by the President? After 10 days of being passed by Congress, it becomes a law If the Bill is sent to the President and then Congress adjourns, the President can choose to not sign (pocket-veto) and the Bill dies (no law) Congress can override a Presidential Veto with 67% of the Congress voting to overturn

Congress (con’t) Congress CAN: create and maintain an army and Navy, est. post offices, create courts, regulate commerce between states, declare war, and raise money (tax) Congress CAN’T: suspend habeas corpus, bills of attainder, give preference to one state over another, take money from the treasury expect for laws. States CAN’T: Print own money or declare war

Article 2 Creates the Executive Branch – OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT and VICE-PRESIDENT Elected by the Electoral College (each state has the same number of Electoral votes as members of Congress i.e. Illinois 19 Reps + 2 Sens = 21)

Presidential information Must be at least 35 Must be a Natural Born Citizen (born in U.S. or U.S. Territory, or parents that were born in the U.S.) Serves 4 year term (max of 2 terms) Commander-in-Chief of armed forces and National Guard of all states

Presidential information (con’t) Selects a Cabinet (experts in different areas that assist the President, i.e. Sec. of State, Defense, Interior, etc…) Recommends Federal Judges (w/ approval from Senate) Present the State of the Union every year (Jan.) Pardon criminals Make treaties with other nations Carry out laws of land

Article 3 Creation of the third branch of gov’t – Judicial Branch – Establishes the Supreme Court – 9 judges led by Chief Justice Sets the terms of judges – “serve as long as good behavior” which usually means until they retire or die Guarantees trial by jury in criminal court Defines treason – crime against country Makes sure the laws are followed legally

Article 4 Mandates all states honor the laws of all other states All citizens of regardless of what state they are from, should be treated equally and fairly in all other states (you can’t require people from Indiana to pay more for goods in Illinois just because they are from Indiana) Extradition laws – if a criminal flees to another state, that state must return the criminal to the original state

Article 4 (con’t) Ensures protection from the federal gov’t for the states against invasion and insurrection Sets up a republican form of gov’t – democratic or power from the people

Article 5 Allows for Congress to amend/change the Constitution with 2/3’s majority (67%)

Article 6 Centers on the United States and states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the country Requires all officers of the gov’t to swear an oath of allegiance to the U.S. and the Constitution

Article 7 States that 9 of the original 13 states had to vote to ratify or accept the Constitution (67%)

Amendments 1-10 are the Bill of Rights 1st Amendment Protects people’s rights Speech Religion Press Assembly Address the Gov’t 2nd Amendment The right to own guns

3rd Amendment Guarantees that the army can’t force homeowners to give room and board to soldiers (Quartering) 4th Amendment Protects the public from improper search and seizure of personal belonging (property, papers, or people) without probable cause or search warrent 5th Amendment Protects people from being held for a crime unless they are indicted They can’t be tried twice for the same crime (can’t be tried for murder, go to trial, be found not guilty, and tried for the same murder again) Testify against themselves (Take the 5th) Due Process – follow the law step by step

6th Amendment Guarantees a speedy trial by an impartial jury Accused can question witness and have an attorney 7th Amendment Guarantes a jury trial in federal civil court 8th Amendment No unfair, cruel, or unusual punishment 9th Amendment Tells the citizens that just because there aren’t laws listed here, they might still exist 10th Amendment Power not given to the Federal Gov’t is controlled by the State Gov’t

Amendment 11 Clearly defines the Supreme Courts jurisdiction Amendment 12 Changed how the President and Vice-President are elected – It used to be top vote getter was President and 2nd place was V.P. – Now they are on one ticket and the V.P. is elected to the Presidential ticket If V.P. – you must meet the same Presidential requriements

Amendments 13-15 (Civil War Amendments) 13th Abolished slavery 14th All citizens, regardless of race, are entitled to the same rights on the Federal and State level 15th All citizens, regardless of race, can vote

16th Amendment Allows gov’t to collect income tax 17th Changed how Senators are selected – by people, not by state legislatures 18th and 21st amendments 18th abolished the production and sale of alcohol 21st repealed (got rid of) the 18th

19th Amendment Gave women the right to vote 20th Amendment Selected a starting/stopping date for President’s term If President-elect dies before taking office, the V.P. takes over

22 Amendment Term limit of the President can’t be more than 2 four year terms EXCPETION – if a President dies in office during the 3rd or 4th year and the V.P. takes over, the new President can still serve, if elected, for 8 more years – a total of 10 years

23rd Amendment gives Washington D.C. 3 electoral votes 24th makes sure that citizens do not have to pay a tax to vote

25th Amendment Line of Succession to the President President The Vice President Speaker of the House President pro tempore of the Senate Secretary of State Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of Defense Attorney General Secretary of the Interior Secretary of Agriculture Secretary of Commerce Secretary of Labor Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Secretary of Transportation Secretary of Energy Secretary of Education Secretary of Veterans Affairs Secretary of Homeland Security

26th Amendment lowed the voting age to 18 27th Amendment – any law that increases the pay of legislators can not take effect until after an election